The Key to the Wild
by MarsMonster
Summary: Percy and his crew get trapped by Kronos for a loooong time. Now they have to complete TWO quests at the same tiiiime! AND save the world? Yes. They do. Revision done!
1. The Lord of Time is afraid of his MOM?

**Okay, here is the first revised chapter. The next one will be up soonish. I am not reliable.**

Prologue

I burst through the gates of Mount Othrys with Annabeth, Thalia, and Grover right behind me. We ran through hallway after hallway of monsters, vaporizing them with no problems.

We barreled into a huge room with hundreds of monsters surrounding a cold black throne that seemed to be made of sheer power. Kronos was seated there, waving a hand around the throne room as if saying "Pretty nifty, huh?"

Let me describe the place. The high, arching ceiling was decorated with stars and little saplings. There were little dancing skeletons and hourglasses dotting the walls, and finally a portrait of a cruel-looking man with pieces of light piercing from his skin was hanging behind the throne.

"Well, well. If it isn't our little heroes!" Kronos chuckled. I grit my teeth. I hated being called little, and I hated his chuckling. Basically, I hated anything to do with Kronos. I mean, even if he called me super-amazingly awesome and sexy, I would hate it because 1) He's like, a kajillion years old so EW, and 2) He's a faker.

"It is time…to meet your maker!" Thalia grinned.

Kronos looked scared. "You told mother?"

Annabeth made a snorting noise. "He's scared of his mom?"

He frowned. "Shut up, foolish half-blood! Have you ever had Mother Earth yell at you for not passing Villains 101? No, you haven't!"

I rolled my eyes and charged at the first line of monsters. I cut, sliced, and slashed, but for every line of monsters we took out, three more appeared.

I was losing hope. Where were the reinforcements the Olympians promised? That Dad promised? We were going to die here, but we'd go down fighting.

Cue the music!

"Where did the music come from?" Grover asked as he was clubbing a monster with a glass Coke bottle.

"It's the new surround sound! Pretty 'rad,' like those young monsters say, right?" Kronos nodded.

"Uh…sure." I wrinkled my forehead. I vaporized another couple lines of monsters. Thalia sent a few arrows at him and Grover and Annabeth tossed cans and apples at him.

Kronos frowned. "ENOUGH! THIS IS MADNESS!"

"No, this is SPARTA!"

Everyone looked at me. "Seaweed Brain say what?"

"Um…look! A flying monkey panda!"

A bright black light drew our attention. Kronos was cackling evilly while the ball of shadows sparkled and grew larger, into a bubble.

My eyes opened wide and I charged at him with Riptide, aiming straight for the heart. Before I reached him, he through the freaky bubble-thing at Annabeth, Grover, and Thalia. As soon as it hit them, they were knocked unconscious.

I slit my eyes at him. I reached my sword to stab him, but before I could, he sent a wave of energy that launched me toward the bubble that was resting on the ground.

"Nooooo fair!" I wailed as I was flying through the air.

A million things happened when I burst into the bubble. A million images flew through my mind.

A beautiful baby being born.

A phoenix flying out of the shadows.

A giant hand removing a key from the wall of an auditorium.

A palm tree shooting up fifty feet in the air.

And suddenly…nothing.


	2. Into the Land of the Rainbow Fishies

**Okay, this is the second revised chapter. I am still unreliable. Yeah.**

Into the Land of the Rainbow Fishies

I felt like I was coming out of a coma (Don't ask me why I know how that feels). My head was pounding, and I felt like throwing up. The last thing I remembered was Kronos throwing that gloomy bubble of pure evil at us.

Annabeth groaned. "What happened? Do you know where we are?"

I shook my head and immediately regretted it. "Um...are we floating? In the air?"

"No, we're floating on the ground."

I rolled my eyes.

Thalia and Grover opened their eyes, and repeated the same question I had asked about three lines ago. Seriously guys, get with the times.

"We're in the Land of the Rainbow Fishies." I answered, hearing a slight crash.

"Be serious, Seaweed Brain. This is bad," Thalia said with a punch.

I took in our surroundings. There were plants and trees all around the bubble, which was slowly falling towards the ground. The bubble hit the ground and popped. We stepped into the sunlight, and gasped. Right in front of us was a grinning stone statue with crazy eyes, a crazy tongue, and a crazy hat. Crazy everything, really. There was an inscription under its legs.

"Here lies the spirit of the Great Olympians." Grover read. "Well, that isn't creepy at all…"

We were silent. "This _is _bad." Annabeth whispered. "What are we going to do?"

"Well, we should go to Olympus to find remnants of our civilization, because otherwise how are we going to do anything here—" I tried to finish my brilliant idea but suddenly…

"AGH! GROSS! MOTH!"

I swatted the insulted insect away from my beautiful face and cleared my throat to speak again, but!

I heard a piercing war cry and two swords were crossing my neck.

"Who are you?" My attacker demanded.

Annabeth whipped out her knife and Thalia nocked an arrow.

I winced. "Um…I am Percy Jackson. Who are you?"

The swords tightened around my neck. "That's a lie! Percy Jackson died five hundred years ago, leaving the world in turmoil and anguish."

I exchanged a glance with Annabeth. "Five hundred years? You're kidding me. And why did you attack ME? I'm the manly man here."

The attacker growled. "Tell the truth! Also: you are wimpy looking." The swords were so close to my neck that blood was slowly dripping from a shallow cut.

"No, I'm serious! I'm Percy!" I pleaded.

Thalia spoke up. "He's telling the truth. Let him go."

The person gasped, "You're the ones who went on the quest to Mount Othrys? So it's YOUR fault I'm in this situation? Thanks a lot."

The swords were sheathed and I was dropped on the ground. The attacker stepped into view.

It was a girl with long, blonde hair and black eyes. She was about five feet, and had a slim figure. She looked like she was about 15.

"I have to take you somewhere else. It's not safe here." She glanced around and led us through elaborate paths through the jungle.

We came to a place where the trees grew so close together, it looked like they were all intertwined into a circle.

"Tell us what happened." Annabeth commanded.

The girl threw her a glare and took a deep breath. "Okay, so you were fighting with Kronos, blah blah blah, he through the time bubble at you, you were trapped. What did you see?" She asked me.

"What?"

"You know, when you were smushed by a bubble. The visions?" She said impatiently.

"Oh. I saw a baby being born, a phoenix flying out of a shadow, a hand taking a giant key, and a tree shooting up into the air."

She nodded. "Okay. So, after you were trapped, something happened. The 'Wild' went crazy, growing at impossible rates, until the whole world was covered with plants and trees and such. Without you guys, the Titans easily won the war. However, Kronos expanded his domain to the whole world. He doesn't care much about most of the land, because of the plants. It's like they have a mind of their own.

"No one really knows what happened to the gods. Some are in the Titan army, some are in Tartarus, some are in disguise, and some are all over the world, enslaved by the Titans.

"There aren't really a lot of humans anymore. The ones who survived went into hiding, or live in space. You'd think, so far into the future, there would be technology." She snorted, and then her tone turned solemn. "The world is in ruins."

"And who are you? What do you have to do with all of this?" I asked.

She stood up. "Me? Why, I'm the baby you saw being born! I am the phoenix, I am the shadow! I am Phoenix, Goddess of Shadows, daughter of Hades and Persephone!"

If I was drinking something, I would have done a spit-take.

"WHAT! I thought she _hated_ him!" Annabeth said.

"Well, but…uh...IT DOESN'T MATTER!" She scowled.

"Okay, okay…geez…where are we anyways?"

"San Francisco. So, yeah. That's pretty much it." Phoenix nodded to herself. "But we have to get out of here," she said, looking at the sun. "We've been here too long."

"It's been seven minutes…" Grover said.

"Whatever! We have to go. We need to find the Oracle."

"What? Why?" I asked.

"We're going on a quest, duh."

"A quest? Why?"

"To save the world! I heard you were dumb…but I didn't think it was this extreme." Phoenix said.

"Hey!" I protested, as Annabeth and Thalia laughed. I knew this girl for what, fifteen minutes? And she was already insulting me. Not a good start.

She giggled and motioned for us to follow her into the shadow of a tree. She closed her eyes and whispered something in Ancient Greek, and suddenly we were flying through shadows.

"What….is…..happening?" screamed Annabeth.

"We're flying!" she laughed, throwing her head back.

In a couple of minutes we were in…more jungle.

"Where are we now?" I groaned.

"New York. We're going to the old Olympian Palace."

"But...wait! I thought you said we were going to see the Oracle! Make up your mind, woman!"

"Yeah…the thing is…I don't exactly know where the Oracle is…"

"What? Then how are we gonna go see he/she/it?" I asked.

"Well, Kronos's empire is all around the world, right? So guess where we're going?" Phoenix grinned.

"Oh, great. We're going to travel the world?" Thalia guessed.

"You got it!"

"Aw, man."

We walked up to what looked like the Empire State Building.

"How are we gonna get up there?" Grover asked.

"There are the stairs, climb up a tree, use the elevator, or go shadow jumping with ME!" Phoenix grinned again.

"Um…I'll take the elevator." Grover went over to the desk, pulled out a pass, and ran into the elevator.

"Whatever. What about you?" She looked at Thalia.

"I'm going to go look for a big enough tree." She walked outside.

"And you?" She looked at me and Annabeth.

"To the stairs!" Annabeth grabbed my hand and pulled me to the stairs.

"Six hundred levels?"

"Yes. You could use the exercise. You think we didn't notice those X-Large fries 500 years ago?" she teased.

"WHATEVER!" I huffed.

Level 1: One, two, skip a few steps, blah blah blah...

Level 2: Not so bad.

Level 3: Okay…legs are a bit tired…

Level 4: Breathe in…breathe out…breathe in…breathe out…

Level 5: Huff…puff….huff…puff…

Level 6: Right leg, left leg, right leg, left leg…

Level 248: Someone…help…me…

What I don't understand was how Annabeth was walking up the steps like it was the first flight. Here I was, about to collapse, and she's skipping along like everything's fine and dandy.

Level 452: Crawling up the steps with my tongue….

Level 597: Annabeth is pulling me along by my hair…

Level 598: By my eyelashes….

Level 599: Only one more….

Level 600: YES! FINALLY!

Everyone was sitting on the ground, looking bored.

"There you are! What took you so long?" Phoenix yawned.

"Why don't _you _climb 600 flights of steps and tell me how that goes!" I growled, breathing hard.

"I'll try to fit that on my agenda."

My vision cleared, and I began to take in the mess that used to be Mount Olympus. There were broken marble statues and torn down houses, and dirt, grime, and bones everywhere.

I tried not to step on any bones as we walked up the path to the palace.

The desolate throne room was even worse. All the columns were torn down and the once-ornate thrones were destroyed and burnt. A single cobweb stretched across the decaying ceiling.

Suddenly, a projection of one of the minor goddesses illuminated the far wall.

"Hello," she said somberly. "My name is Melpomene, and if you're seeing this, it means Kronos has taken over. The world is in ruins, and it's now your responsibility to save the world. There are many things you have to do, which will all be part of this mission I am assigning you.

"Your mission, obviously, is to unite the lost people of Olympus and defeat the Titans. I am very sorry to have to pile all of this responsibility on you, but it's our only choice. First, you must see the Oracle to receive the information on your quest. There is extra information hidden somewhere here in the palace, if you need a hint. There will be a series of clues to help you at each of your stops. This is Melpomene, signing out!"

It was quiet for a minute, and then Phoenix said, "We have to find those clues."

"Why? It's going to waste time." Annabeth protested.

"Okay, half-blood. Tell me where the Oracle is." Phoenix crossed her arms.

"It's obviously…um…certainly you've figured it out…" Annabeth tried to find an excuse. "Fine, you win."

"Okay, I'll search the bedrooms with Percy, Goat-boy and Annabeth will stay here, and Thalia, you can search wherever you want."

"Right." Thalia disappeared.

Phoenix and I ran into the hallway that said, 'Bedrooms.'

"This looks like a good place to start…" I fidgeted. I was never really comfortable talking to girls, especially good-looking 500-year-old goddesses.

"Really? I had no clue." She said sarcastically.

We went through Mr. D and Athena's room without finding anything of interest. Same with Demeter, Artemis, and Apollo. However, when we got to the Muses' room, under the bed, there was a box with a golden key.

"Figures…since Melpomene was a Muse." Phoenix stated.

"Right. Let's open it with everyone else." I was dying to get back to the throne room.

Back down the hallway we went, and I continued making awkward small talk. I thought I kept hearing the pitter-patter of steps following us, but every time I turned around, there was nothing except an annoyed-looking goddess staring at me with an incredulous expression on her face.

If I had not closed my eyes to sneeze (a lot of mucus builds up after 500 years), I would have seen the person, heard their steps, stopped them from tackling Phoenix and threatening her life. But I didn't, and you can imagine the look on my face when I turned around and saw who it was.

"Nico?"


	3. It's Time to Get FUNKY!

**Okay. Third revised chapter. I'm over halfway done! Hooray! I'm still unreliable.

* * *

**

It's Time…TO GET FUNKY!

_Last time on The Key to the Wild…_

"_As we were walking down the hallway, I heard footsteps behind me and saw Phoenix being tackled. A knife was at her throat and I could hardly contain my surprise when I saw his face._

"_Nico?"_

Phoenix POV

Today had been the craziest day in the last five centuries. Not including, of course, that one time all the monkeys had thrown that incredible party over in the Amazon jungle. That had been awesome.

But this, this was just abnormal. I mean, first the only people who could possibly have a chance of saving the world come back from the "dead" (or the frozen time-suspension—it really doesn't matter where they came back from), then we all go on a merry adventure to Olympus, then this KID tackles me out of nowhere.

_This is just one of those days_, I thought to myself before yelling "Get off me you idiot!"

"Who are you?" He asked, not removing his dagger.

"Instead of asking me that, could you explain why you are STABBING my NECK with a very sharp knife?"

He scowled and poked me with the knife again, repeating the same question.

"Phoenix." What else was I supposed to say? I doubt he had noticed the miniscule drop of golden ichor that had welled up at the tip of the dagger.

"Nico! Stop she is, like, a GODDESS!" I heard Percy shout from down the hallway.

"Look, I know she is pretty and everything…but who is she?" I heard the boy, Nico, say.

I snorted. That had to be one of the stupidest things anyone has ever said (and I am including Percy in this).

"No, that isn't what he meant! She is the daughter of Hades and Persephone," said Annabeth, who ran into the hallway with Thalia and Grover. I soon realized Annabeth was the rational one in the group, and with the quest were on…the gods knew we needed one.

"Oh…well nice to meet you…er…sis."

_Wow,_ I thought. _What a way to meet your brother. _I pushed him off of me and stood up, rubbing my neck.

"Well, that was awkward…" said Grover.

"Whatever," said Nico.

"I am surrounded by idiots!" Groaned the ever-smart Annabeth.

"Hey!" Thalia pouted.

"What? I didn't know…her…ugh! You people didn't tell me." He said, looking desperate.

"You attacked her for no reason! That's pretty idiotic. And you should, Seaweed Brain. You should."

"Alright! Enough jibber-jabber of flibber-flabber or whatever!" Ignoring Grover's exclamation of "IT'S FLUBBER!" I continued in a sing-song voice, "We're off to see the Oracle, the wonderful Oracle of…well no one really cares."

"Um…ok? Are you sure that she is my sister?" Nico asked in a staged whisper.

"Nico…that hurts me…can't you see I'm in tears?" I said, drying a fake tear off my cheek.

He blinked at me and started walking away.

"Um… guys? How are we getting down and where are we going first?" Thalia said, suddenly stopping which caused Annabeth to bump into Percy.

"Well, I am going to shadow us down. Once there, we should check South America," I said, giggling at Annabeth who was trying to grab an empty pop can away from Grover.

"Annabeth! I want that! I'm hungry." Grover said, trying and failing to grab the can.

"You shouldn't…I mean what if you get hungry later? We won't be able to stop," she coaxed in a motherly tone.

"Yes Mom," Grover said with a teasing grin on his face. I smiled, glad that I had someone who had the same carefree attitude and teasing personality that I did.

"Alright…is everyone ready to shadow?" I asked the group.

"As ready as I'll ever be," said a grumbling Percy Jackson.

"Would you like to walk down 600 floors?" I asked sweetly. The idiot should really be more grateful.

"Yeah yeah. Let's get this over with…" He said, not looking up from his jacket button that he had been trying to button for ages.

"Whatever, now that the whiner is done…" I started, but was interrupted by Percy's loud 'hey.'

"Ready to rock and roll?" I asked, as strange as it seemed, it was one of my father's favorite expressions.

They all raised an eyebrow at me, which I ignored. Alright, now all I have to do is focus on… Brazil(the best place on earth) and reached out to the shadows of the trees.

"Wow…let's do it again," said Percy. Honestly, I had grown up with stories of how _heroic _he is; but honestly? He is kind of…strange. Anyways, we started walking towards the tallest tree I could see, which was about a mile or so away.

It was quiet for a while, a nice change. I had never had to deal with so many PEOPLE. To calm myself down, I was thinking some relaxing thoughts about my wonderful home of death. Sometimes when my father decided he wanted to read my mind (which he did fairly often—before he disappeared) I sometimes caught him throwing smug looks at my mom like 'Ha! She is more like me!' but to me they're both insane. I think that is more of Uncle Dionysus's forte.

"Hey Nico, how did you stay alive for 500 years?" I heard Grover ask.

He got a look of fear on his face and shuddered. "I'd rather not talk about that."

"Okay, whatever." He started humming, and Percy joined in. I tried to breathe slowly, thinking about death; sweet, savory, death. It didn't work.

"Shut up…Not that I'm irritated or anything," I growled, sarcasm lacing every word.

"Really? I guess we'll just have to hum louder," Percy said, looking at me innocently.

Inhale, exhale…was all I could think so I didn't accidentally kill mankind's only hope. Unfortunately for me, Percy did not seem to realize the how close he was to death; I wonder if he did that just to make me mad.

Annabeth cast Percy a warning glance and told him to stop.

"Yeah, Percy. Listen to your girlfriend. Have you ever heard the term 'whipped?'" I said because I couldn't help it; I would like to see _you_ be a daughter of Hades and not be just a little sadistic. I watched Percy's ears become a dangerous red color.

"Percy, just ignore her. It's obvious that she hasn't had any sort of romantic activity in what? 200 years?" She said looking at me with contempt. Like _I_ care. She thinks I would get hurt by a little anger.

"Really? Have you even had a boyfriend Ms. I'm-to-good-for-the-world? Now, if you would stop acting like you know everything…we can move on. And it's FIVE HUNDRED, thank you very much." I retorted coolly. It probably wasn't nice, but I couldn't help it! She bothers me.

"Alright guys, we should start…I don't know, moving?" Nico said, trying to easy the silence.

"You're right, we've been standing in the middle of…wherever we are for like, ever," Thalia said, looking around. "Where are we, anyways?"

Everyone ignored her question.

"Hey Grover, can you still smell monsters?" Nico asked.

"No… It's one of those skills that get lost when you are trapped in a time bubble," the goat boy said sarcastically and totally out of character.

"Whoa dude, that like isn't like you…" said Percy, confused.

"Sorry…I was feeling the emotions of someone who is rather sarcastic right now." He said with half a glance at me.

"Hey…you know what doesn't make sense? Earlier today you were all happy-peppy, and now you're all cold and mean," wondered Thalia.

"I think it has something to do with being some of both of my parents. Sometimes I am more like my mother, crazy and happy. But most of the time I am more like my father." I tried to explain.

"Oh…I guess that makes sense," Nico said. "You're like, bipolar?"

I groaned and tried, once again, to resist the urge to kill something.

"Anyway…does anyone know where we are?" said Annabeth. I had to laugh at how much she resembled my cat when it got wet.

"Yes I do. We are right here." I answered.

"Shut up," she retorted.

"Tut-tut, you shouldn't tell that to a _**goddess **_you know!" I giggled, as she was the only one that I consistently reminded.

She growled but didn't say anything. Honestly, the way she kept coming back for pain made her seem like a masochist.

"Anyway, we are in Brazil. The best place on earth," I grinned. I knew that the world looked pretty much the same because of the wild taking over, but something about this place…it just makes me so happy.

"Okay…now we really have to start looking, but why would anyone put the Oracle in Brazil?" Percy said.

"Hey guys…" Grover said trying to get my attention.

I shook him off with a wave of my hand, trying to mask my irritation.

"But it is really important," He whispered, still sounding urgent. He probably had to use the bathroom or something.

"Fine! What is it?" I finally asked in exasperation.

"I thought you would like to know that monsters are on our tail." He said this so calmly that I had trouble believing him…until I heard the growl.

I looked behind me and saw the ugliest thing known to man…and no, I'm not talking about Kronos's head. What I saw in front of me was big, hairy, and suspiciously Minotaur-like…

"Wow Grover! I didn't realize you invited your brother," I said, trying to keep calm.

"This is not the time for jokes," Annabeth growled.

I stuck out my tongue at her and cracked my knuckles, ready to get my fightin' on.

I pulled out my Stygian iron swords. This seemed to be enough to drag the attention off the half-bloods and onto me, but perhaps that wasn't the best plan…Anyways, I jumped forward and engaged the beasty with my swords, at the same time turning the monster around so its back was to the mortals. Dodging its claws while doing a back flip, I called, "Are you going to fight? Or are you going to let me have all the fun?"

This seemed to snap them all out of there daze, and Percy ran forward in a very offensive (not like, insulting, but on the offense. Oh you know what I mean, nevermind) move while Annabeth and I did things a bit more strategically. I moved forward to distract it. Since I couldn't die, I might as well be the distraction, and she got behind and stabbed it with one swift movement.

"And that's how it's done, Seaweed Brain," she said looking a little smug. Percy just grinned sheepishly and capped his pen.

"Oh, we should start looking for the Oracle…" Grover said, like he just remembered why we were here.

"The Oracle isn't here silly…" I said like it was obvious.

"Then why are we here?" Annabeth asked.

"Cause I wanted to come to Brazil… duh!" I said, pulling out the box of clues. Annabeth scowled at me again.

"Alright it says 'Home is where the heart is,'" I read aloud. "What the flibberjabber?"

"Um…home…OOH! I KNOW! WHERE THE ORACLE IS, IS WHERE IT WAS BORN! OR CREATED! OR WHATEVER!" Percy started jumping up and down.

"Calm down, Seaweed Brain. I guess you're not as dumb as everyone says!"

He nodded then frowned. "Hey!"

"Alright to Delphi!" I heard Thalia say.

"To Delphi." Nico agreed.

So I grabbed them and focused on Delphi, and in one second we left the clearing completely empty.


	4. The Glowing Bird of Doom! Doom! Doom!

**Ho ho I am on a roll today. Fourth revised chapter. Enjoy! I am the tiniest bit more reliable!**

The Glowing Bird of Doom! Doom! Doom! Doom!

Percy POV

_Last time on The Key of the Wild:_

_So I grabbed them and focused on Delphi, and in one second we left the clearing completely empty._

We landed in a crumbling temple. The white stone was strewn about the floor, and a coffin was in the middle of the room. We walked outside and looked around.

"Where should we start?" I asked.

"I dunno. Delphi is so big! It will take forever." Phoenix stated.

"Can't you just shadow us to her?" Annabeth said.

"Well, I could…but I'm lazy."

"PHOENIX!"

She rolled her eyes and grabbed us. The scarily-trippy sensation of shadowing engulfed us all, and seconds later, we were standing in the street in front of a temple on a small hill.

Phoenix frowned. "She's in there, but for some reason I can't get into there by shadow-travel."

I led us up the hill and into the temple, stopping when I saw a woman surrounded by mist, only her face showing.

She opened her eyes and smiled at us. "Welcome, children. State the question."

The voice sounded like it came from everywhere around us, and as the mist cleared, I gasped. The Oracle was no longer an old, shriveled up mummy. She was young and beautiful, with her long, black hair and bright blue eyes. Her dress was long and flowing, and was shimmering with all the colors of the rainbow.

Phoenix stepped forward and asked, "What can we do to stop the reign of Kronos, and save the world?"

Green mist curled out of the Oracle's mouth, and we saw monkeys swinging off a tree. For some reason, Phoenix giggled at them. They chanted in unison:

_You shall find the one who has hidden the Key;_

_Go on a journey to beyond the Sea._

_Free the gods and tame the Wild,_

_It all depends on the only Child._

_In the end, all may be lost._

_Come that decision, all may be cost._

We blinked as the smoke evaporated and the Oracle disappeared. Phoenix looked like she was pondering what the she had prophesized.

"We're gonna have to write that down."

Five minutes later, we had written it down. We stopped at an abandoned café and sat down.

"So, let's figure this out. 'You shall go to the one who has hidden the Key.'" I read. "What does that mean?"

"What Key?" Annabeth asked.

"When?" Grover said.

"Why?"

"Who?"

"WHERE?"

"Stop!" Phoenix yelled. "I WILL KILL YOU ALL IF YOU DON'T SHUT UP!"

We all went quiet as she glared at us. "Now that you're finished, we can ACTUALLY TRY TO UNDERSTAND THIS!"

It was awkwardly silent, and I was about to make the awkward palm tree sign, but I heard a strange whooshing sound and saw an arrow sprouting from the sign two inches above my head.

Gaping, I pushed everyone out of the chairs and told them to run.

"LEAD THE WAY, GLOWING BIRD OF DOOM!" Phoenix shrieked. "RUN TO THE LIGHT, LITTLE BUNNY! RUN!"

The monsters stared at her as she started to hyperventilate. Maybe that was what she had in mind. But suddenly, dozens of arrows showered on us, narrowly missing.

"Doom...Doom...Doom...Doom...Doom...Doom... Doom...Doom...Doom...Doom...Doom...DOOM!" She shrugged her shoulders, came out of her seizure, and said, "Well, it distracted them," then started running towards the Oracle's temple. I uncapped Riptide and slashed the volley of arrows out of the air, then started following her.

Our attackers started dashing towards us as we gained speed. They let out a bloodcurdling shriek of triumph and started to gain.

"Guys, we have a problem," Grover stated as we rounded a corner.

"No, really? What gave you that idea?" Thalia growled at him.

"Grover's right! There is a different one…" Nico pointed at the road ahead and we saw what he was talking about. A deep, forbidding chasm that was so conveniently placed took up the space 100 meters in front of us.

"What are we going to do, Phoenix?" Grover asked.

"We should stop or something…" I said.

"No! It's too late. We have to jump!" She screamed over the sound of the enemies and the wind rushing around us.

"What? It's too long! We'll just jump to our deaths!" Annabeth yelled back.

"Just trust me!" Phoenix started increasing her speed and finally, took the leap. She looked like she was soaring over the breeze. The rest of us were right behind her and I barely landed on the other side before she grabbed my arm to steady me.

Grover wasn't so lucky. He just reached the edge when the piece of cliff he was holding on to started to crumble and finally gave away. He started to scream as he fell into the opening, like a feather dropping from the sky. A tree root seemed to snap out at him and grabbed hold of his leg, swallowing his yells.

I stared down into the fissure in shock. My best friend was…gone. It was worse than when Annabeth was captured by the manticore, Dr. Thorn.

Thalia stood up. "I'll go after him."

I stared at her in sorrow. "What?"

"I'll go after him. This could help us on the quest, you know? And, it would clarify what-" her voice broke, "-really happened to him."

I nodded, still too stunned to say anything. Thalia started climbing down the side of the chasm and soon disappeared into darkness.

Annabeth wiped her eyes and sighed. "We better get going."

"I suggest we figure out the Prophecy, you know?" Nico whispered.

Phoenix shuddered and blinked. "Right. We better get somewhere safe for that, okay?" She glanced at me and started walking towards the woods.

Nico ran up to me and quietly said, "He's not dead, you know. I can just tell."

I sighed and rubbed my temples. "Look, Nico. I know you're trying to make me feel better and all, but just stop trying, okay? I can deal."

Annabeth glanced at me with a look of worry on her face. She bent her face closer to Phoenix's and murmured something into her ear. She looked at me, then Annabeth, and whispered, "Really? That's going to be a problem..."

I looked at the chasm for one last moment before brushing some invisible lint off my jacket.

"We should go," I said with a fake calm voice.

And for once in her life, Annabeth didn't argue. She didn't even react. I was starting to think she expected me to do this. Guess I'm just becoming too predictable.

"Yo, Seaweed Brain, are we leaving?" Phoenix asked, looking up at the sky.

"Shouldn't you feel, like, really at home here? I mean we're almost underground…" Annabeth asked. She was staring at Phoenix.

"Yeah…I probably could have found Grover in a second. But we need to go, and you will never be able to travel as fast without me; I made a decision for the good of the team." She said, not looking up from a particularly fascinating boulder.

"For the good of the team?" She repeated, her voice turning cold that could only promise argument. "You don't care that OUR BEST FRIEND IS GONE?"

"We need to get a move on. They will make it back alive. Oh and to answer you, I could care less if both your friends died," she reached over and tapped Annabeth twice on the head, "My dad's the god of death, remember?"

This seemed to shut Annabeth up for a few minutes, just long enough for Nico to get tangled in some random rope that was just so conveniently there.

"Oh, look! It's a random rope," he said, twirling.

"Um…I know that this might not be the best time to mention this…but you are completely tangled in rope," Phoenix tried to stifle a laugh.

"Really? I hadn't noticed."

"Then you need to work a bit on your skill of perception."

He shook his head and started to walk in the opposite direction from where we were going.

"Um…Nico, unless you want to fall of that ledge and die, I would suggest coming this way..." She started giggling and pointed in the other direction.

"Whatever. I knew that." He said smoothly and tripped on a rock.

Annabeth shook her head. "Let's go! We don't have a lot of time!"

"Yeah, whatever." Phoenix grabbed hold of us and we went back to the jungle.

"I hate the jungle!" I screamed.

"Why? Just because it kidnapped your best friend?" Phoenix said tauntingly.

"YES! IT KIDNAPPED MY BEST FRIEND! IS THERE A PROBLEM?" I yelled at her.

"Hmm, well. You could just build a bridge and get over it, or just keep moping to yourself. Either/or!"

"Is it challenging a god to a battle if you slap a her across the face?" I asked. In case you were wondering, yes, I am always full of this obvious wit.

"Unfortunately, yes Seaweed Brain. Although I think it should be an exception for _her_," Annabeth said, looking at Phoenix with pure loathing.

"Stop it! We have to save the world together so you had better get used to her," Nico said, for once being the voice of reason.

Everyone looked at Nico because of that very out of character outburst. He stared back at us with a sheepish smile and mumbled, "What?"

Phoenix rolled her eyes and sighed. "Let's just figure out this freaking prophecy. I have no time for you guys."

Annabeth hissed at her and held out the piece of paper to read. After the first line, Phoenix interrupted.

"Okay. We need to figure out what the Key actually is," Phoenix stated. "I'm guessing it's beyond the sea?"

"Oh, really? It doesn't say that or anything…" Annabeth said.

"Shut up, guys! We don't have time for this." Nico studied the piece of paper.

"Anyways… as I was saying," Phoenix said, looking at us like we should all burn in her father's glory. "My father told me there was a secret weapon that we could only use in case something totally bizarre happened. Like you guys 'mysteriously' pulling a vanishing act."

"Well, where is it?" I asked.

"Um, what part of 'secret' do you not understand? I don't know!"

"Well, how is this information useful?"

"It's not. I just wanted to put it out there!" She said smugly.

Annabeth groaned. "You are so infuriating!"

"Did Dad tell you where he put the weapon?" Nico questioned.

"No! It is _lost_. Which is why we have to _find it_."

"Ooh, really?"

"Yes, actually!"

"Guys, stop flirting. There is work to be done, keys to be found, people to be eaten!" Annabeth clapped her hands.

"We're not flirting!" Nico blushed.

"Sure you're not. Well, where do you think your dad kept the secret?" She asked Phoenix.

"The secret is LOST! But he said he kept the information in one of his 5,932 Mac computers in his 6,000 chambers in his 3,392 palaces all around the world." Phoenix grinned.

"Well, that narrows it down…" Annabeth said, rolling her eyes.

"I know, right? That takes out 46,000 of his computers, 400 chambers, and 9,789 palaces!"

"Oh… well then, where should we start?" I said, looking at Annabeth.

"Well…if my calculations are correct, x+32094/43 equals one giraffe."

"Um, what?"

"X PLUS 32094 DIVIDED BY 43 EQUALS ONE GIRAFFE."

"How is that supposed to help us?" I asked her, scratching my head in confusion.

"It's up to you to figure that out!"

"Okay, that was absolutely pointless…" Phoenix rolled her eyes.

"How about we check the Underworld first?" Nico suggested.

"But that's too obvious!"

"Exactly! Dad would have thought that other people would think that and then never think to check the Underworld!" Nico grinned.

Phoenix blinked and tapped her chin. "Sure, why not?"

"Okay, to the Underworld!" Annabeth nodded at Phoenix. "But first, let's figure out the rest of this prophecy, eh?"

I agreed with her and took the piece of paper, reading the prophecy one last time.

"_You shall find the one who has hidden the Key;_

_Go on a journey to beyond the Sea._

_Free the gods and tame the Wild,_

_It all depends on the only Child._

_In the end, all may be lost._

_Come that decision, all may be cost._"

"So we're going to find information on the weapon, which hopefully is this key, which is placed somewhere beyond the sea somewhere. That part was easy enough. Next, we apparently have to free the gods and…tame the Wild? Maybe that's what the Key is for? The Only Child…that must be you, Phoenix. The only child of Hades and Persephone. The rest seems pretty clear too," Nico spouted off in one breath.

Since what he said made sense, no one disputed his analysis. Phoenix was going to continue on her merry way but I stopped her.

"There's just one little problem…" I said. "If Kronos expanded his realm to the whole planet, where is the Underworld?"

"You make a good point…" Phoenix tapped her chin again. "Well, how the hell am I supposed to know?"

"Gee, let's wonder. Maybe because it's your HOME?"

"No it's not." She said, inspecting her nails.

"Kill me now." I grumbled.

"If you say so!" Phoenix grinned and pulled out two gold handguns with celestial bronze bullets.

Annabeth pulled Phoenix's hair and hissed something in her ear.

"Don't touch the hair!"

"Sorry," Annabeth said, not looking sorry at all.

Phoenix growled at her and nodded a quick yes.

I sighed and asked again, "Where is the Underworld?"

Phoenix rolled her eyes and said, "Well, where's the longest and deepest tunnel in the world?"

"The Seikan Tunnel in Japan." Annabeth answered immediately.

"I don't think the Underworld would be in Japan…oh well. Might as well try, right?" Phoenix said.

We all stared at her skeptically and she said, "What? I know I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed and my logic may not make sense most of the time, but trust me on this, okay?"

"But Japan? Why _Japan_?" Annabeth whined.

"I don't know, but hey, the largest undersea tunnel is bound to go _somewhere_, right?" Phoenix said.

"Sure, whatever. Get shadowin', lady." Nico demanded.

"So commanding…" She muttered before she hooked onto us and whispered something under her breath.

We were hurtling through the air again, feeling the same exhilarating feeling as before. It was like someone had blinded me, and yet I could see and feel and hear time and space bending and compacting and groaning to send us to the tunnel.

We landed outside of a lush, dark green forest. I could barely see the white brick of the tunnel entrance and I gulped as I stared down into the deep, dark, and dreary depths.

"Um, how long is this tunnel?" I asked nervously.

"About 53.85 kilometers, and in some parts it's 200 meters deep. At least 23.3 kilometers are undersea." Annabeth told me.

I gulped again and began to think that this wasn't such a good idea. The weight of the plants could have pushed down on the tunnel, causing it to flood.

"Well, let's get it over with. And if we die," I said, staring at Phoenix, "You will PAY."

"Well, I'm probably going to be able to walk away from whatever life-threatening abomination the Lord of Time has conjured up this time, so, yeah, whatever."

I shook my head at her and sighed. "Let's go, already! I'm not getting any younger!"

"No, you are not, you 500-year-old monster!" Annabeth laughed, poking me.

I sniffled. "That hurts, Annabeth. That really hurts."

Nico rolled his eyes. "Well, if you're done flirting, we can get on with it!" Then he looked around. "Hey, where'd she go?"

Phoenix walked through the dense jungle and stood in front of the white brick wall. Motioning us forward, she took a cautious step forward and fell through a crack.

We stared at the ground in shock and watched her disappear into the gloom. After a couple of minutes, we heard a soft _Thunk_and Phoenix's voice rose out of the trench.

"Guys, I think I found the Underworld! If the Underworld is dark and death-smelling then yes, this is it! Come on down!"

"Um, I don't know if you haven't noticed this, but we're not immortal. Us HALF-BLOODS will most likely go SPLAT." Nico called down.

"Just jump! I'll catch you. Don't you trust me?"

"No."

"Now who's flirting?" Annabeth stared at Nico accusingly. He blushed and flung himself down the hole. After a while, and another very audible _Thunk_, he yelled, "YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO CATCH ME!"

"Well, I lied. So who's next?"

Annabeth and I glanced at each other and jumped into the hole, hoping to whatever gods that were left that we wouldn't crash and burn.


	5. Extreme Makeover: Underworld Edition

**Fifth and final revision. I am reliable! Not really, I'm trying to finish the next chapter. Its almost done. **

Extreme Makeover: Underworld Edition

Phoenix POV

_Last time on the Key to the Wild: _

_Annabeth and I glanced at each other and jumped into the hole, hoping to whatever gods that were left that we wouldn't crash and burn._

When the fall finally ended we were in a large basin that resembled a football field. On the other side of the 'field' there were two large stone doors.

"Wow, you humans are really easy to scare." I giggled, looking at their terrified faces.

"Oh shut up," Nico said, looking just as casual as I did. I sometimes forgot that he was my _brother; _I mean we look nothing alike.

"Um…Phoenix you are speaking out loud," Percy observed, looking at me weirdly.

"Oh…I knew that," I nodded, shifting my eyes.

"Right…" He replied.

"I thought you loved me!" I said melodramatically clutching my chest and 'crumpling' on the floor.

"No," he said curtly.

"Gee thanks," I said laughingly. "I think we should start on the last iMac he got. The MacBook Air."

"Isn't the secret old?" Annabeth questioned. I paused, as I hadn't considered that.

"Yeah…Your point?" I asked, walking down the dark hallway.

"Well, if the secret is old then it should be in the oldest computer, right? So we should find the first Mac ever made and the secret should be in there. Make sense?" Annabeth continued taking a very short gasp of breath. I am seriously starting to question if she is truly mortal because I have never seen a mammal talk that fast. Forget humans.

I pushed the stone door open and gazed at my true home. The Underworld used to be a huge, busy, crowded place, but now there was hardly a soul (pun intended) left. Asphodel was completely barren, with gray grass and withered flowers everywhere. I could see as far as the Castle and the Fields of Punishment, but nothing else. No sounds were heard above the low moans of the villains in the Fields and the faint laughter of the heroes in Elysium. Spoiled Brats. We go bust our behinds to save the world, but they refuse to take one teeny step out of their little secure home.

Elysium was for the 'heroes' that had done much good in their lives, like Hercules and Martin Luther King, Jr. Trust me, when you get to know them, they aren't like how they're described by the living at all.

The 'villains' were the nice ones to me. They had their reasons for doing what they did, and most of them regret their evil deeds when they were alive. I think everyone deserves a second chance.

"Alright munchkins! The fun has only just begun!" I giggled. They stared at me. Maybe I had some people issues but you can't blame me. The last thing I talked to was my devilled eggs last week…that friendship didn't last.

"Whatchu lookin' at, foo'? Get a-searchin'!" I ordered.

And with that we all started looking through his files; most of them were files on dead people. A little known fact about the Underworld is that my father keeps a file on EVERY dead person who enters his domain.

"Can you say pack rat?" Nico mumbled.

"Can you say no?" I quipped.

"Maaaybe…"

I looked at him and laughed. He chuckled back and shook his head. "Good times, good times…"

"Well this is pointless," Percy declared dryly.

"If you have a faster way, please, enlighten us." Annabeth snapped.

"Just a comment, why are you so snappy today?" Percy asked glancing at her for a moment before turning his eyes back on the computer.

"I am not snappy," she protested.

I just rolled my eyes. Something about being down here always had a calming effect on me, I suppose because I felt safe here like I didn't need to be on my guard.

"So… has anyone found anything?"

"No not—"Annabeth started but a split second later was cut off by a yell of triumph.

"What the h—"I began to say.

"I found it!" Nico shouted.

We all jumped up and ran toward him; he was just staring at the screen.

"What are you talking about Nico?" Percy asked.

"What are _you _talking about? It is right there, black and white and clear as crystal," he said heatedly.

"Nico, they can't see it. They aren't a son or daughter of Hades," I hinted sharply. I glanced at the screen and saw what my father had written.

"**Dear Child,**

**If you are reading this then what I had feared has come to pass and it is very important that you know the secret guarded by the Olympians for centuries. The secret is very important and is to be protected. I wished to tell you earlier but my foolish brothers were to prideful to even come close to admitting that this might happen. There is a key that was hidden away eons ago that stopped the vegetation from taking over the space that humans needed to grow. Mother Earth..Gaia…she is more powerful than you can imagine. This key stopped her plants from doing just that. The movement of this key will mean that the plants will no longer be 'mindless' and begin to grow and develop feeling, communication methods and a brain—something the other Olympians had decided not to have centuries ago. Now, I cannot just send you to the key because it is hidden from all who are not worthy. Read this carefully because after you have read it this document will delete.**

_**God of death, bringer of change**_

_**Will bring you to an endless maze,**_

_**To seek the child of death that holds the clue,**_

_**Hurry before the Titans and fight for the true.**_"

And as he said it would, the document deleted and we were left with only the memory.

"Well, let's go," Annabeth said heading toward the exit.

As we walked out slowly, I felt a strange change in atmosphere; something dangerous. They must have seen me tense because soon they too were looking for something that could have caused the disturbance. We walked slowly and gingerly down the hall, making sure not to make any noise and disturb anything that might be living here after all these eons. It gave me a cold feeling like I was being dumped into the Arctic Ocean again (don't ask), not a feeling I enjoy.

"Wait a minute," Annabeth said thoughtfully, looking at a stone wall with poorly disguised excitement.

"When the Titans were defeated, we put them in the Underworld because that is the only place with defenses strong enough for them to stay without being able to break out," she said quickly, "then it would make sense that the Titans put the Olympians there too!" she finished with flourish.

"Great idea, except for one thing," I said, "it is impossible to get there now because they have the General guarding it." I watched as they all shuddered involuntarily.

"And there is NO way around him?" Nico asked looking up at me hopefully.

"Well… In theory you could parachute in, drop a celestial bomb on his head to knock him out and you MIGHT get 30 seconds," I said thoughtfully. I had actually tried that plan once and it worked but then he woke up and…let's just say it's a really good thing I can shadow.

"Oh…" they all said contemplating what I had just told them.

We walked out of the building in silence, something I was quite used to because the last human I talked to before was nearly 100 years ago. As soon as we got out we saw a large purple bear! Just kidding, what we really saw were several large, ugly and muscular looking statues.

"Are those ugly, furry things supposed to be there?" Nico asked grabbing a large stick and made a move to poke them, which Percy quickly cut off with Riptide.

"Um…I don't think so. We should get out of here, I am not getting a good feeling from this place," I said shivering there was something I had felt before and it was a horrible feeling. Like I had felt it before at a time I cannot remember.

"You would like to leave now, wouldn't you?" One of the large beings stood up.

"Figures, as soon as we have a clue of what we are doing we get attacked," I said and charged toward the offending thing.

Out of the corner of my godly eyes, I saw Percy side-stepping an ax cut and lunging forward in order to hit the monster. Nico was using his black sword and swinging with no real purpose except to decapitate as many as possible. I couldn't see Annabeth seeing as she was parrying with some demons behind me. I had been so off, not paying attention to the monster in front of me, and he took that opportunity to swing a large sword directly above my head. Well, I guess they are slightly more experienced warriors than I had originally thought, I quickly slid away from the quickly accelerating sword and clashed mine own sword with his.

Since the last time I looked around, I guess none of us had been paying any attention to our comrades till we heard a pained yell from a feminine voice.

"ANNABETH!" Percy yelled and ran towards her.

She was lying on the ground with her arm hanging limply at her side, but she was still fighting. She pulled out a knife and stabbed it into the monster's leg and scrambled away. Percy reached her then and stabbed the monster through the stomach, vaporizing it. I turned my attention back to the monster I was fighting and held up my two swords, willing them to turn into two celestial bronze guns. I cocked one, aimed, and fired, hitting the demon in the middle of the forehead. Nico was chuckling as he beheaded the monsters.

Percy held Annabeth's head up and growled at the rest of the monsters.

"Uh-oh...Watch out! HE'S GONNA BLOW!" I screamed.

He stood up and charged at the nearest monster, ducking under its mace and cutting its head off. Moving on to the next, he stabbed it in the chest and lopped off the arms. Nico joined him and together they decapitated and beheaded the remaining monsters. While they were doing this, I ran over to Annabeth. She had a small cut on her forehead and what looked like a broken arm. Her ankle was twisted and she was unconscious.

I lifted her up and started to walk towards the Styx River. "We have to get out of here before anyone else comes."

Nico caught up with me. "Why don't you just shadow us out?"

"I can't. First of all, it takes too much energy, and second, I don't feel like it."

"So how are we going to get out?"

"We'll just go through the Styx."

Percy stood panting behind us. I turned and motioned him forward. "We have to go! Come on!"

"What are we going to do about Annabeth?" he asked with a worried face.

"We'll go to Camp Half-Blood. They must have some medical equipment left in the Big House."

I walked towards the river. There was another reason I wanted to go this way. Cerby was very lonely now that all the dead spirits were out of the Underworld.

I whistled and called his name softly. Seconds later, he bounded out behind the gates and smothered my face with monster-sized doggy kisses.

Percy's eyes widened and he took a step back. Cerberus growled at him.

"Calm down, boys." I patted Cerby's neck to calm him down. He whined and stared straight at Annabeth.

"She'll be alright. Can you lead us out of the Underworld?"

He nodded his head and started walking (or whatever a dog does; I guess you can call it walking) towards the dark, murky river filled with unfulfilled dreams. Staring out across the water, I felt a sudden burst of despair. How were we supposed to do everything both prophecies asked for? This was going to be a suicidal mission. I just knew.


	6. Truths

**Ohhh hey there. Um, yeah! Here's the chapter! It's only been a year and nine months in the making! Ha ha!

* * *

**

Truths

Percy POV

_Last time on the Key to the Wild: _

_Staring out across the water, I felt a sudden burst of despair. How were we supposed to do everything both prophecies asked for? This was going to be a suicidal mission. I just knew._

Once we got out of the Underworld, Phoenix was strong enough to shadow us to Camp Half-Blood. I was a little anxious to see what the camp looked like after who knows how many attacks during these 500 years.

Phoenix gave Annabeth to me and grabbed hold of me and Nico and next thing we knew, we were standing in front of Half-Blood Hill.

"Are you ready?" Phoenix asked me.

"As ready as I'll ever be," I said, trying to sound brave. Phoenix just rolled her eyes and marched us up to the top of the hill. I stood under the pine tree, surveying the damage of what used to be my favorite place on Earth.

The cabins, to put it simply, were destroyed. Not one piece of the marvelous structures was intact; they were all scattered around the areas where they stood before. The strawberry fields were overgrown with weeds. The Big House was the only thing that wasn't completely ruined. The attic and upstairs were demolished and only the first floor remained standing.

Phoenix ran inside the healing ward in the Big House, and returned with a box of ambrosia and a canteen of nectar. She opened Annabeth's mouth and started feeding her little by little one of the squares of the godly meal. Annabeth began to stir and opened her eyes.

I broke into a smile. "Annabeth, you're alright!" I cheered.

"Of course I'm alright, Seaweed Brain. No little monster's gonna destroy me," she said nonchalantly.

Phoenix gave Annabeth the canteen of nectar and led us to the porch of the Big House where she sat down on one of the mangled chairs. "Okay, first and foremost, we must make a game plan. CAMPFIRE!"

We all followed her, rolling our eyes, and sat on the chairs too.

"The Lord of Dorkiness taking over the world is a problem. A big problem, no doubt, but a problem is a problem no matter how big. And to solve a problem, you must first find the root of the problem. And I would say the root of this problem was you guys disappearing. We've solved that, so we must solve the next thing that happened: the Wild taking over. Capiche?" Phoenix explained.

"How are we supposed to do that?" Nico asked. "The Oracle really told us nothing about what we're supposed to do. Beyond the Sea? What does that even mean?"

"It _means_ we have to go on a journey beyond the Sea!" Phoenix cheerfully told him.

"Jeez, thanks for clearing that up for me, Sherlock."

Annabeth cleared her throat and looked at the two of them disdainfully. "We have to make a game plan! Plan like your life depends on it! PLAN!"

We sat there for fifteen minutes, staring blankly at the forest in the distance. I decided to break the silence and said, "Alright, I got nothing."

Phoenix was tapping her chin with her index finger with a deep look of thoughtfulness on her face. "Percy, you say you saw a key in those visions before you were trapped, correct? How big was it?"

"Pretty big, it took up an entire wall in the auditorium of some school."

Phoenix grinned. "That's it! That's the Key to the Wild! But what are we supposed to do with that information?"

"That no-good Oracle," Nico grumbled. "I mean, we go through all the trouble of finding her and that's all she tells us? 'Go beyond the Sea.' Which sea? Mediterranean? Arctic? Red? Black? Caspian?"

He was about to name more when Annabeth cut him off. "That's it, Nico! You're a ge-actually, no, you're not a genius, but that was still pretty smart."

Nico looked hurt and Phoenix rolled her eyes. "Address that, please."

Annabeth smirked, enjoying the chance to be the one who knew what was going on. "This key has to be pretty large to control all of the vegetation in the world…There aren't many places where someone could fit something that huge." She paused, taking advantage of the attention.

"This Sea also has to be pretty important. The Oracle wouldn't make us search all across the globe and have us hunt down every single sea just to see what's beyond it. I've figured out the two main places that are big enough to hold the Key without having suspicions and where there are important seas."

"Will you get on with it?" I asked exasperatedly.

"I'll get there, don't worry. As I was saying, there are two places where the Key could be hidden without suspicion: Antarctica and the Sahara Desert. If we just-"

Phoenix cut her off. "You want us to dig out the entire Sahara Desert without Kronos knowing we're alive? Good luck with that."

Annabeth frowned at her, irritated at being interrupted. "What do you suppose we do, then? Where else is there for us to look?"

Phoenix grinned. "What about the Amazon? That's a pretty big place."

"Okay, NO. We are most definitely not going back there, and besides, the Key is going to be in a place untouched by the wild. The Sahara is too dry to hold that much plant life and Antarctica is too cold, so they're the only logical places," Annabeth countered.

Phoenix reluctantly agreed, wanting to go back to the Amazon, but she couldn't argue with Annabeth's logic. We decided to stay overnight in Camp Half-blood and start on our quest within a quest (it's like questinception) in the morning.

Since the cabins were all destroyed, we all stayed in the Big House living room together. I lay sprawled on the couch while Nico took the single-seater and Annabeth took the loveseat. Phoenix stayed on the floor. I tried to offer her my couch but she refused.

After an hour of trying to get to sleep, and failing epically, I was laying on the couch staring at the ceiling when I heard some shuffling below me. I saw out of the corner of my eye that Phoenix had gotten up and left the Big House, heading towards the fire that had once burned in the middle of the cabin area. As quiet as possible, I followed her through the desolate camp until she stopped by the fire pit and lit it with a lighter she pulled from her pocket.

I walked forward and sat next to her without a word, knowing she would speak when she wanted to.

It was almost a full five seconds before she spoke.

"It wasn't always like this, you know. For almost an entire century the gods still held Olympus…and we were still a family." She stared into the deep flickering flames.

"Phoenix…did you ever know your mom? Or your dad?" I asked.

She nodded in confirmation.

"When exactly were you born? Do you know?"

She smiled a creepy smile. "They say it was the exact moment you were frozen."

I was spooked. "Who are 'they'?"

"Um…you know, 'they.' Gods, I can't explain it!"

I laughed quietly, then sobered up. "How…how was it? Living on your own for five hundred years?"

"Weren't you listening, Barnacle Brains? I wasn't alone, not for the first century of my life. I grew up in the Underworld with my father…mom came to stay more often than before, because of me I guess." Her eyes grew distant. "For some reason, I was more vulnerable than the other gods. My powers were drained more quickly than everyone else's. But life went on…and soon my father and mother were called off to the war. I didn't expect him to answer the call—no one did. I think that since I was born, my dad was slowly but surely changing. Trying to be a good father instead of one who gets all his kids killed, you know? But they went off to war and I never saw them again. And now, now we have a hope. You, Percy, you're the only hope we have. You're the only one who can make things right in the world."

With those words, she put out the flames and walked away.

* * *

**Oh look character development**

**wow i finally updated. i know this chapter is short, i'm sorry hons.**

**Okay I really am super-duper sorry about the ginormously long wait. I am . But hopefully the updates will be more regularrrr. And if they're not you can hate me 'n stuff. **

**love you guys!  
**


End file.
